S I LVA C O M PA S S E S
History of the modern compass and how Silva came to be By Brooke Wilson, Silva US PR Manager (Reproduced with permission from ‘Orienteering North America’ with minor editing by Tom Andrews, Silva Australia’s representative)
T
HE invention of the compass changed the world. With this revolutionary device, sailors were able to navigate more accurately. Oceans were crossed and new lands discovered. Even with today’s technological innovations, travelers still depend on compasses to lead them in the right direction.
Who invented the compass?
The original compass can be traced back to the ancient Chinese. The first known use of a compass occurred in the 4th Century BC. It was used in Feng Shui, the Taoist method of environment organisation. Chinese fortunetellers used lodestones, a mineral composed of iron oxide that aligns itself in a North-South direction. Eventually the Chinese noticed that the lodestones were consistently pointing out actual magnetic directions. They designed the compass on a square slab with markings for the cardinal points and the constellations. The pointing needle was a lodestone spoonshaped device with a handle that would always settle to point South. The first written mention of the compass was by a Chinese mathematician in about 1050 AD. Shen Kua wrote about the use of a navigational instrument with a magnetised iron needle. The first recorded use of a compass in Europe is in 1190 AD. Very little was understood, though, about how the compass worked. Superstitions abounded, including sea captains believing that if the crew ate onions it would affect the device. In the centuries that followed, historical references of compass use increased. Arabian and Viking mariners were described using the device to navigate across great distances of water in the early and mid-1200’s.
Early compasses
By the 17th Century, the needle was changed to a parallelogram, which was easier to mount upon the pin. In 1745 an Englishman, Gowin Knight, developed the Knight compass with a steel needle that would retain its magnetisation for longer periods of time. To protect the compass needle, later innovators enclosed it in a metal case. They used a simple air-filled brass housing in which the needle swung around freely, mounted on a pin. These are known today as standard dry-fill compasses. However there remained problems with the device. The magnetic needle would swing back and forth and would not come quickly to rest.
Development of the modern Orienteering compass When ‘Orienteering’ began in Scandinavia in the early 1900’s, it was primarily a military exercise as part of navigational training. It was not until 1919 that the modern version of Orienteering was created in Sweden by Major Ernst Killander. As Orienteering became more popular in the early 1930’s, there was a clear need for a better and more reliable compass. Four notable orienteers – brothers Arvid, Alvar and Björn
Kjellström and Gunnar Tillander, shared an interest and vision in such an invention. Combining Tillander’s instrument making experience and the Kjellström brothers’ Orienteering background, the four found that the most effective way to counter the compass needle problem was by filling the housing with a liquid that slowed down its erratic movement and brought it to settle quickly in the North-South direction. They further perfected the invention by mounting the liquid filled housing on a transparent baseplate that acted as a protractor and direction finder allowing the user to take fast and accurate bearings from a map. The liquid damping in the housing stopped the needle’s movement within four seconds as opposed to 30 seconds in dry-fill compasses. With a loan of 1500 Swedish Kronor (~A$300) from the Kjellström brothers, the four formed Instrumentverken AB (later Silva Production AB) to produce the compasses. Tillander headed the manufacturing side of the business whilst the Kjellström brothers used their knowledge of publicity and Orienteering to form AB Bröderna Kjellström to handle marketing and sales. On December 13, 1933 an agreement was signed establishing the foundation of Silva compasses. There is no doubt that the invention of the new Silva protractor compass gave the sport of Orienteering a technical boost not only in Sweden, but throughout Scandinavia. Silva soon became dominant in Sweden and AB Bröderna Kjellström started to export to neighbouring countries and then to other markets. By the late 1930’s Silva compasses were sold in 25 countries and to 14 different defence forces including the Swedish army. That army model compass with some modifications is still produced today for military forces all over the world. In 1970 Gunnar Tillander’s son, Hans-Gunnar Tillander purchased Silva Production AB and in 1980 AB Bröderna Kjellström. Then in 1996 he took a giant step offshore by acquiring the biggest and oldest (since 1894) compass manufacturer in the US – The Brunton Company. In 2000 the Swedish companies merged to become known as Silva Sweden AB with Tillander’s son-in law Lars Gullikson as CEO. The company now employs over 250 people in a magnetically sterile modern factory in Stockholm’s suburb Sollentuna. Silva Sweden AB produces nearly 2 million compasses annually and a multitude of other outdoors related instruments such as GPS and marine navigational products, atmospheric data centres, binoculars, headworn lamps, pedometers, map measurers, surveying instruments and Orienteering equipment – distributed to over 110 countries.
Björn Kjellström – ‘Father’ of Orienteering in North America
Björn Kjellström moved to the United States in 1946 and started Silva Inc. in La Porte, Indiana. He introduced Orienteering to the US in 1946 when he organised events for Boy Scouts. In 1948 he founded Silva Ltd. in Toronto, Canada where he organised and promoted Orienteering events throughout the fifties and sixties. In 1971, he co-founded the US Orienteering Federation (USOF) serving as director for many years. He was involved in the successful bid to bring the 1993 World Orienteering Championships to Harriman State Park near West Point. Björn was also on the Promotion & Education Committee of the International Orienteering Federation for several years in the early 1970’s. In 1971 he visited Australia at the invitation of Tom Andrews to give advice and support in the formative years of Orienteering in Australia. In 1955 he published the book “Be Expert with Map & Compass – The Orienteering Handbook” with many reprints over the years. Undoubtedly the biggest selling book on the subject, with worldwide sales of well over 500,000 copies in several languages. He remained an everpresent supporter and sponsor of Orienteering until his death in Stockholm, Sweden in 1995 aged 84. DECEMBER 2004 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER 5
